East Penn School District gets credit for Willow Lane rollout

Resident says plan to make more students walk went OK, except that his son was on bus too long.

Officials from East Penn School District and Lower Macungie Township are… (DENISE SANCHEZ/THE MORNING…)

August 27, 2013|By Margie Peterson and Patrick Lester, Of The Morning Call

An East Penn resident who had been critical of the school district's plans to require more students to walk to Willow Lane Elementary School said the rollout of the plan on the first day of school Monday went "pretty smoothly," with some exceptions.

Resident Jon Berger said at Monday night's school board meeting that the principal and the crossing guards at Willow Lane did a good job, but his third-grader arrived home by bus 40 minutes later than usual.

"I thought 40 minutes was a little excessive," Berger told the school board Monday night. "My son said he waited on the bus for 25 minutes."

Berger questioned whether the buses were required to wait until all the walking students were on their way.

Superintendent Thomas Seidenberger praised the Willow Lane staff, crossing guards and Lower Macungie Township for their part in launching the new traffic configurations, crosswalks and procedures.

"I do want to thank the township," he said. "I think they did an absolutely remarkable job."

But he acknowledged there were hitches that need to be ironed out quickly.

"Mr. Berger, you're absolutely right," Seidenberger said. "No child should be on the bus that long."

Susan Coenen, a parent who had been closely monitoring the safety improvements, said that the new procedures generally went well.

In an email on Tuesday, she wrote, "We've made some positive headway on getting our children to and from Willow safely, but there are still some kinks that need to be worked out."

Coenen, who has two children who walk to the school, said she was pleased by the crosswalks, crossing guards and state police presence at the school. She said that while the morning drop-off period went well that the afternoon pickup period took longer.

She said to properly evaluate the new procedures, officials from the district and township need to talk with parents of walkers, parents of students who are bused and parents who drive their children to and from school.

The school district and township for that past few years have been working toward improvements at and near Willow Lane that would allow more students to walk safely to the school on Sauerkraut Lane.

Initially, district officials had discussed eliminating busing for students who live within a mile and a half of Willow Lane.

The school board, as a compromise, decided earlier this year to reduce that distance and eliminate busing service for all students living within three-quarters of a mile from its elementary schools.

Lower Macungie Township Manager Bruce Fosselman said 14 crossing guards have been deployed at five intersections near the school building. He said the township also has fire police officers available if needed.

He said the first two days of school went smoothly. "It's gone well," Fosselman said. "It's a pleasure to see."

In fact, he said, it appeared as though more students were walking on the second day of school after parents saw how things went on Monday.

Fosselman expects that some parents who drive their children to school may eventually opt to have them walk.

The school district and township are splitting the cost of crossing guards, who are paid $13.65 per hour.

Fosselman said the township will have a better idea of how much the guards will cost over an entire school year after it's determined how many guards will be used daily. He said the current plan is to use 14 guards daily, but said that could change.

"We're going to err on the side of caution," he said.

Officials from the township and district plan to meet next week to discuss the new walking arrangements.